The Years of Crisis: 1919-1939

Chapter 31

C Kollasch 2011

Key Terms/People• Theory of relativity• Existentialism• Surrealism• Jazz• Coalition government• New Deal• Fascism• Nazism• Lebensraum• Appeasement• isolationism

• Albert Einstein• Sigmund Freud• Nietzsche• Weimar Republic• Franklin D Roosevelt• Great Depression• Mussolini• Hitler• Mein Kampf• Axis Powers• Francisco Franco• Third Reich• Munich Conference

WWI Shatters People’s Perception

• The horrors of WWI broke Enlightenment ideas that progress would continue and reason would prevail

• Post-WWI, people began questioning traditional beliefs through– Science– Technology– Education– Art– Music– Literature

Changes in Society

• Society becomes more open• Women demand more rights• Young people adopt new values• Uncertainty of life is reflected in new styles

and ideas in art, literature, and music

A New Revolution in Science

• Albert Einstein– German born– Theory of relativity

• Space and time do not change speed does

• New way of thinking from Newton

• Sigmund Freud– Theory of human mind – Role of unconscious thought– Weakened faith in reason

A New Revolution in Literature• The brutality of WWI caused philosophers and

writers to question accepted ideas about reason and progress– Fear of the future – Role of religion

• Referred to as the “Lost Generation” of writers

A Revolution in the Arts

19th Century- Realism

• Emerges in the mid-1800s

• Attempt to represent the world as it was

• Often focused their work on the harsh side of life in cities or villages

Julien Dupré, Harvester (1880-1881)

Photography

• Technological improvements changed use of camera

• Instant gratification• Created a new form of

art

Julia Margaret Cameron, 1867

Impressionism

• Photography challenged artists

• Why work hard if photography can do the work for you?

• Took art in new direction capture first impression

Claude Monet,

Water Lily Pond

(1899)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir , Ball at the Moulin de la Galette (1876)

Impressionist PaintersClaude Monet Edgar Degas

Woman with a Parasol (1875) Dancer with a Bouquet of Flowers

(Star of the Ballet) (1878)

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh, The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night (1888)

Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night (1889)

Vincent van Gogh, Self-Portrait (1889)

Post-Impressionism

• Developed a variety of styles– Pointillism (Seurat)– Primitive folk art

(Gauguin)

Georges-Pierre Seurat, Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte (1884-1886)

Paul Gauguin, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (1897–1898)

20th Century Art

• In the early 1900s, artists started rejecting traditional styles of art

• Movement away from realism • Explore new dimensions of color, lines, and shapes

Henri Matisse, La Danse (second version) (1909 )

Cubism

• Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque• Broke three dimensional objects into

fragments and compose them into complex patterns of angles and shapes

Georges Braque, Woman with a guitar (1913) Pablo Picasso, Le guitariste (1910)

Abstract• Vasily Kandinsky and

Paul Klee• Moved even further

away from realism• Very hard to distinguish

subject matterVasily Kandinsky, Composition VII (1913)

Paul Klee, Insula Dulcamara (1938 )

Dada

• Max Ernst• Revolt against

civilization• Depicted life without

discipline or morality• Was intended to shock

viewers

Max Ernst Fireside Angel (1937)

Surrealism

• Salvador Dali• Attempted to portray

the workings of the unconscious mind

Salvador Dali, The Temptation of St. Anthony (1946)

Salvador Dali, The Ship (1935)

A Revolution in Women’s Rights• After WWI, countries

around the world gave women the right to vote

• New styles of dress and new hairstyles emerge

• Margaret Sanger and Emma Goldman spoke out in favor of birth control

• More women had careers than before

A Revolution in Technology

• New drugs and medical treatments lowered the death rate

• Automobiles alter society• Airplanes transform travel• Radio and movies become

popular forms of entertainment

Crisis: A Worldwide Depression

New Governments Struggle

• Newly formed countries struggle with implementing new democracies

• Many fall to other forms of government (fascism, communism)

• Frequent changes in government will cause economic issues

Problems in Germany• The Weimar Republic

(new government) is weak and blamed for signing the Treaty of Versailles= no trust by the people

• Economic decline- had to pay back the reparations

• Inflation skyrockets• Dawes Plan attempts to

help the economic problems of Germany

Financial Collapse of the US

• Strong economy, but some fundamental flaws– Uneven distribution of wealth– Overproduction by business and agriculture– Americans were buying less– Companies were making less, couldn’t pay off

loans

Stock Market Crashes• 1929, people started selling

their stocks• Panic resulted- everyone

sold their stocks• No money in the stock

market= collapse• Unemployment skyrockets

due to businesses losing money and not being able to pay loans

• By 1933, 25% of Americans are unemployed

A Global Depression• The collapse of the US

economy sent shockwaves throughout the world

• US withdrew their money from Europe

• Americans stopped buying European goods

• World trade dropped by 65%

• Germany and Austria were hit the hardest (lost WWI)

• Crash also impacted Asia and Latin America for the same reasons

Countries React to the Depression

CountryCountry SolutionSolution

GREAT GREAT BRITAINBRITAIN

Increase taxes, regulate Increase taxes, regulate currency, lower interest rates to currency, lower interest rates to encourage econ growthencourage econ growth

FRANCEFRANCE Not so successful- several Not so successful- several governments form and fall, but governments form and fall, but democracy stays in tactdemocracy stays in tact

USAUSA FDR and the New Deal, large FDR and the New Deal, large public works, government aid, public works, government aid, reform of stock marketreform of stock market

The Rise of Fascismin Europe

Definition

• A militant, political movement that emphasizes loyalty to the country and obedience to its leader

• Unlike communism, fascism has no clearly defined theory

• Extreme nationalism, believed most country’s must struggle, supreme loyalty to leader, and uniforms to rally the country

Cultural: censorship, Indoctrination, secret police

Economic: controlled byState corporations or state

Political: nationalist, Racist, one-party rule,

Supreme leader

Principles: authoritarianism,State more important than individual,Charismatic leader, action oriented

Examples:ItalySpain

Germany

Social: supported by middle classIndustrialists, military

FASCISM

Communism

Fascism

BOTH-Classless society

-international revolution to overthrow government

-appeals to lower class, especially those without property

-de-emphasis on nationality

-government eventually not necessary because class system (chaos) has been removed

-class based society

-strong sense in superiority over others

-appeals to upper and middle classes

-based on capitalist economy

-intends for government to be a permanent fixture, and sees it necessary

-uses extreme gov. control

-finds individualism destructive

-controls individuals

-violently against the other

Fascism Starts in Italy• Italy upset that they did

not gain as much land as they wanted during the Treaty of Versailles

• Economic troubles inflation and high unemployment

• Weak government not helping

Benito Mussolini• Promised to rescue Italy by reviving its

economy and rebuilding its armed forces• Vowed to give Italy a strong leader• As the economy worsened, he gained

popularity• October 1922 March on Rome

– Power given to Mussolini by King Victor Emmanuel III

– Thought Mussolini was the best option for Italy to survive

“Il Duce”

• Mussolini– Abolished democracy– Outlawed any political

party other than the Fascist Party

– Implement strict censorship of media

– Outlawed strikes– Tried to control the

economy- not as successful as Stalin or Hitler

Mussolini’s BFF

• Hitler models his own rise after Mussolini, especially his March on Rome

Hitler’s Rise to Power• He fought in WWI• Like many others, he thought Germany

needed to fight back against the Treaty of Versailles and the rise of communism

• Led a March on Munich (Beer Hall Putsch) (1923)– Was arrested and imprisoned– Where he wrote “Mein Kampf”

• Book that outlined his plans for Germany• Stated that “Aryans” were the perfect race, all others

were inferior• Discussed “lebensraum” for all Germans

“Cleanliness, whether moral or of another kind, had its own peculiar meaning for these people. That they were water-shy was obvious on looking at them and,

unfortunately, very often also when not looking at them at all. The odor of those people in caftans often used to make me feel ill. Beyond that there were the

unkempt clothes and the ignoble exterior.”

“All these details were certainly not attractive; but the revolting feature was that beneath their unclean exterior one suddenly perceived the moral mildew of

the chosen race.”

“What soon gave me cause for very serious consideration were the activities of the Jews in certain branches of life, into

the mystery of which I penetrated little by little. Was there any shady undertaking, any form of foulness, especially in

cultural life, in which at least one Jew did not participate? On putting the probing knife carefully to that kind of abscess one immediately discovered, like a maggot in a putrescent body, a

little Jew who was often blinded by the sudden light.”

“The Jew has never been a nomad, but always a parasite, battening on the substance of others. If he

occasionally abandoned regions where he had hitherto lived he did not do it voluntarily. He did it

because from time to time he was driven out by people who were tired of having their hospitality abused by such guests. Jewish self-expansion is a

parasitic phenomenon--since the Jew is always looking for new pastures for his race.”

“To put it briefly, they are sheer swindlers, political jobbers who feel chagrined by the honest work which

others are doing. When you find one of these VÖLKISCH (folk) moths buzzing over the value of his 'silent work' you may be sure that you are dealing

with a fellow who does no productive work at all but steals from others the fruits of their honest labor.”

“For it was by the Will of God that men were made of a certain bodily shape, were given their natures and their

faculties. Whoever destroys His work wages war against God's Creation and God's Will. Therefore everyone should endeavor, each in his own denomination of course, and should consider it as his first and most solemn duty to hinder any and every

one whose conduct tends, either by word or deed, to go outside his own religious body and pick a quarrel with those of another denomination. For, in view of the religious schism that exists in Germany, to attack the essential characteristics

of one denomination must necessarily lead to a war of extermination between the two Christian denominations.”

Hitler Gains Political Power• By 1932, Nazi party is the largest political party• Jan 1933, the President appoints Hitler Chancellor

– Same reasons as King Victor Emmanuel III– Gains power legally

• Once in office, he holds elections• Uses the fear of communist power to gain the votes needed to Nazism

to be the party in power

Hitler Becomes a Totalitarian Ruler• Banned all other political

parties• Arrested opponents• Created the SS elite

protection squad• Created Gestapo secret

police• Banned strikes, unions• Focused on infrastructure,

weapons to improve economy

• Bulit up military

Hitler is Supreme• Uses media and

propaganda to control the people

• Banned books that did not promote Nazism

• Schoolchildren forced to join Hitler Youth Movement

• Blamed Jews for problems of Germany– Laws put in place to make

them inferior– Kristallnacht- The Night of

Broken Glass

Japan Seeks to Make and Empire

• 1922 Japan is democratic• 1929 Great Depression hits• Military leaders gain control and support of

the country– Want to restore tradition and honor– Want to restore military control of government– Made emperor symbol of the country

Japan Becomes an Empire

• Invades China (Manchuria)

• Needs resources to industrialize

• Spreads into the Indian and Pacific Oceans

Europeans Get Aggressive

ITALYITALY -attacks Ethiopia-attacks Ethiopia remember remember why?why?

GERMANYGERMANY -builds up army-builds up army

-enters the Rhineland-enters the Rhineland

• Form the AXIS powers- Italy, Germany, Japan• Rest of Europe policy of appeasement- DO NOT WANT

WAR!• USA policy “isolationism”

Civil War in Spain• Hitler and Mussolini challenge policy of

appeasement by helping Francisco Franco in Spain

• Send supplies to Franco to help him take over the government and establish fascist dictatorship

• Europe does NOTHING!

Guernica, Picasso (1937)

Germany Keeps Going

• March 1938, Hitler sends army into Austria and brings unity to the two, Austria wants this

• 1938, Hitler invades the Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia), Czechs do NOT want this– Breaks Treaty of Versailles– Appeals to France for help

Munich Conference• Sept 1938• Meeting between Italy &

Germany with Britain & France, Czechs not present

• British Prime Minister, Chamberlain, decides to allow Germany to have Sudetenland to avoid war

• Germany agrees not to go any further– LIAR!

Hitler Just Keeps Going..

• Looks to invading Poland next– Feels France and Britain won’t go to war

• 1939, Germany and Russia sign non-aggression pact vow not to fight (yeah right Hitler!)

• WHAT NEXT????